No. Burger Kings use an appliance called a chain broiler to cook their beef patties. The patties are fed into the top, and a chain conveyor moves the patties across a gas fired flame to cook them. They are then stored and reheated in a miocrowave before serving.

No. Burger Kings use an appliance called a chain broiler to cook their beef patties. The patties are fed into the top, and a chain conveyor moves the patties across a gas fired flame to cook them. They are then stored and reheated in a miocrowave before serving.

I worked at a BK once. When I had that task, I felt like I was sending the patties into hell. Put them on the conveyor and watch them move inexorably towards the flames, grease dripping from them and sizzling when it landed. On the other side, they slid lifelessly down the chute, whereupon I put them between toasted buns and filed them in a bin like so many casualties.

No. Burger Kings use an appliance called a chain broiler to cook their beef patties. The patties are fed into the top, and a chain conveyor moves the patties across a gas fired flame to cook them. They are then stored and reheated in a miocrowave before serving.

But this is still, technically, flame broiled, yes? The point BK is trying to make is that their burgers are exposed to a real flame, as oppossed to a flat top grill (I don't know if McD's uses a standrard grill, but I'm fairly certain some places, like White Castle at least, do.) Thing is, it's not like having an open flame is any better or worse than a regular grill, so who gives a flying crap?

I think the dieticians like when the fat drips off, like in a George Foreman grilling machine.
But there is so much fat left in any commercial burger that it's irrelevant.
And of course some people like the taste of smoke on their food. Not me.

__________________Semper aliquid novi Africa affert. There is always something new out of Africa. ~ Pliny the Elder-Natural History

But this is still, technically, flame broiled, yes? The point BK is trying to make is that their burgers are exposed to a real flame, as oppossed to a flat top grill (I don't know if McD's uses a standrard grill, but I'm fairly certain some places, like White Castle at least, do.) Thing is, it's not like having an open flame is any better or worse than a regular grill, so who gives a flying crap?

It makes a difference in the taste, I think. BK burgers have a smoky flavor that McD's burgers do not.

longhair75's post was in answer to the question, "Does BK brand the burgers with an iron but cook them in a microwave?" At some BKs you can see the chain broiler in action if you order at the counter instead of the drive-thru.

McDonald's uses a clamshell grill to cook both sides of the burger at once. The cooked meat is stored in a steam cabinet until the sandwich is put together. Sandwiches with cheese go in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the cheese.

I worked at a BK once. When I had that task, I felt like I was sending the patties into hell. Put them on the conveyor and watch them move inexorably towards the flames, grease dripping from them and sizzling when it landed. On the other side, they slid lifelessly down the chute, whereupon I put them between toasted buns and filed them in a bin like so many casualties.

McDonald's uses a clamshell grill to cook both sides of the burger at once. The cooked meat is stored in a steam cabinet until the sandwich is put together. Sandwiches with cheese go in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the cheese.

Wow - things have changed since I worked at McDonald's in the 80's* - we still had a standard grill, cheese was placed on the bun, and the heat of the patty melted the cheese. I guess the emphasis on freshness kind of killed the original McD's system of having burgers sitting in the hot rack, waiting to be taken.

* Long enough ago that when I worked there, they introduced the Cheicken McNugget and the McRib

This is not normal -- it happens only when they suddenly find they have extra patties, with no customer orders to use them. The normal situation is as Rilchiam described; the patties go directly onto a bun as soon as they come off the broiler.

There are BK quality standards limiting how long cooked patties can be stored before being discarded; well-run BK's follow those carefully.

I guess the emphasis on freshness kind of killed the original McD's system of having burgers sitting in the hot rack, waiting to be taken.

When I worked there in the mid 90s, they still put the assembled burgers under the heat lamps at the end of the process. Supposedly they were only to remain there for 10 minutes until being either purchased or discarded, but somewhere around here I posted about the Evil Zombie Big Mac I discovered once upon a midnight dreary. It was not mouth-watering, but eye-watering. Now they keep the parts separate until someone orders something, presumably to reduce the risk of inadvertent necromancy.

I like to watch the chain toasters at Quizno's sub shops. Seems like if the chain ever slipped a cog that four footlongs would flame up at once.

I saw something like that happen at a Quizno's located in an airport (can't remember which one) within the last year or so. The belt must've gotten hung up temporarily, or a sandwich got caught somehow, and it was aflame. One worker was reaching in with long tongs to fish it out, and small hunks were left behind, still burning, so he had to pluck those out too. The belt moved along afterwards just fine, so whatever had happened didn't look likely to reoccur.

I was worried that the fire would get big enough to set off some kind of fire alarm or sprinkler system - I was trying to imagine the logistics of having that happen in an airport.

Back in the 60's our local Burger Chef (who remembers THAT?, btw it was eventually absorbed into Hardees which I guess still exists, tho ours also died a few years back) used a chain-broiler visible to the public through a window. I loved watching that thing cook our burgers- made 'em taste better! *L*

Other local fast-food eateries that have since expired- Dog'N'Suds (specialties- Hot dogs of course, and also root beer & creme sodas) and Park'N'Eat (spawner of dirty jokes, of course). I know some A&Ws survive, but whatever happened to Burger Queen (with mascot Queenie Bee, kinda scarier than the modern Burger King)?

Burger Queen turned into 'Druthers', which I've heard some say was bought out by Dairy Queen. Don't know if that's true or not (although I think the Burger Queen in my old hometown in Kentucky was/is a Dairy Queen now.)

Me. Had one in my home town. At the time, it was the only chain fast food place we had. We did have a couple of mom&pop dairy bar type things, but that was about it. Pizza Hut and KFC came in around 73ish, followed by BK a year or so later. We didn't get a Mickey D until I'd left for college...

I worked at a Burger King almost 20 years ago and we used the chain broiler.

I worked night shift so I got the honor of stripping down the broiler and cleaning it.

It was fun because we used to take the detachable parts which were coated with burned on grease and dip them in an acid bath to clean them.

Acid is fun.

I had the same job. Except we had something they called "hood cleaner", which was a really caustic spray-cleaner/degreaser. We used it for the chain and the inside of the broiler hood. If you got that stuff in a cut in your finger, it burned like hell. I was required to clean inside the hood with no mask and no gloves. After about 30 seconds you would start coughing from the fumes and would have to stick your head out from under the hood to catch a breath of air. I didn't know what OSHA was back then.

We cooked the burgers on the chain, then they immediately went into a steamer (with the bun) which kept them hot and moist. If they stayed in there too long they would get soggy. Most of them got served that way anyway. In addition, each burger was microwaved before it was served. You really can taste the smoky flavor in my opinion. I used to really like the taste of their burgers, but not so much after I worked there for awhile - I just got burned out on them.

I always thought it was a pretty clever innovation. Once the speed of the chain was set correctly, the burgers were automatically cooked exactly the right amount without any guesswork or mistakes. You would put 12 patties and 12 buns at one end, and by the time you walked around to the other end, the first ones were already coming out, and you'd grab a patty and a bun and assemble them. Very efficient.

One day someone forgot to turn on the gas. I put the patties down at one end, came around to the other end, and raw burgers came out.

Sorry, this is off-topic. Does anyone remember those collectable Looney Toons glasses from Carroll's Restaurants. I think it was around 1973. I remember how excited we'd get when a new glass came out. I still have mine.

I worked at a BK once. When I had that task, I felt like I was sending the patties into hell. Put them on the conveyor and watch them move inexorably towards the flames, grease dripping from them and sizzling when it landed. On the other side, they slid lifelessly down the chute, whereupon I put them between toasted buns and filed them in a bin like so many casualties.

I think I smell a new viral video series, "Rilchiam, the Tortured Fast-Food Worker"

Back in the 60's our local Burger Chef (who remembers THAT?, btw it was eventually absorbed into Hardees which I guess still exists, tho ours also died a few years back) used a chain-broiler visible to the public through a window. I loved watching that thing cook our burgers- made 'em taste better! *L*

Other local fast-food eateries that have since expired- Dog'N'Suds (specialties- Hot dogs of course, and also root beer & creme sodas) and Park'N'Eat (spawner of dirty jokes, of course). I know some A&Ws survive, but whatever happened to Burger Queen (with mascot Queenie Bee, kinda scarier than the modern Burger King)?

During one of our Engineering depressions in Michjigan I managed at Burger Chef. They had a division called Sani Serv which actually contructed and sold the chain drive burger cookers to Burger King. We did studies that showed that grilled burgers were preferred by most consumers and we went to grills.We did keep selling the chain drives to BK though.

The Burger King burger has more flame broiled flavor than any outdoor grilled burger. Someone told me that he has been to a warehouse of spices and that Burger King uses such a spice to make the burgers taste very flame broiled. No telling what the chemicals are.

The Burger King burger has more flame broiled flavor than any outdoor grilled burger. Someone told me that he has been to a warehouse of spices and that Burger King uses such a spice to make the burgers taste very flame broiled. No telling what the chemicals are.

Then that's new, when I worked there it was just a frozen patty fed into the chain broiler. Nothing but condiments put on after.

The other chain that also did flame broiling was Minute Man. They didn't use the chain broiler. They had an actual gas grill. It was fun watching the flames. Minute Man was popular in the late 60's, 70's and into the 80's. It was sad seeing them go downhill from mismanagement. The last ones closed in the early 90's.

The Burger King burger has more flame broiled flavor than any outdoor grilled burger. Someone told me that he has been to a warehouse of spices and that Burger King uses such a spice to make the burgers taste very flame broiled. No telling what the chemicals are.

The Burger King burger has more flame broiled flavor than any outdoor grilled burger. Someone told me that he has been to a warehouse of spices and that Burger King uses such a spice to make the burgers taste very flame broiled. No telling what the chemicals are.

I worked at a BK once. When I had that task, I felt like I was sending the patties into hell. Put them on the conveyor and watch them move inexorably towards the flames, grease dripping from them and sizzling when it landed. On the other side, they slid lifelessly down the chute, whereupon I put them between toasted buns and filed them in a bin like so many casualties.

I also worked for BK in the 80s I even remember the speed of the chain 55 links per minute and the buns went on the bun chain at 110 LPMs.

What was fun at the end of the day cleaning the large drip pans under the broiler from the days accumulated grease and debris.

I don't know what it is, but I swear Burger King tastes to me like the hamburgers have been dipped in lighter fluid. I'm only slightly exaggerating. I hate their burgers because of that weird flame-broiled taste. It's not a woody, grilled flavor; it's something else. I've always suspected they added some kind of flavoring to their patties to enhance the smokiness, but maybe it's just their flame-broiling process that gives them that odd taste.

I don't know if they do or do not add flavoring (but I'd guess not) but I can guarantee you I can taste the difference between a grilled (flame broiled) and a fried burger.

I think typoinc was hitting on the fact that using a gas grill (as opposed to a charcoal grill) doesn't make it taste smokier. I agree with you--it does make a difference. Even with a direct gas flame, when the fat from the meat hits the fire, it burns and produces a distinct smoky flavor, which is different than a woody smoke flavor. I just call it "fat-in-the-fire" flavor. A burger cooked in a gas grill where the fat occasionally flares up and burns tastes distinct from a griddled burger.